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The Formula SAE Tire Test Consortium (FSAE TTC) was established to provide high quality tire data to participating FSAE teams for use in the design and setup of their racecars. Currently, data on ten different constructions of tires has been measured at Calspan's Tire Research Facility and distributed to all consortium members.In this paper we review the history of the FSAE TTCthe inception, organization and continuing operation of this all-volunteer effort. Details of tire testing will be explored, including the many options and constraints considered while designing the tire test matrix. Finally, a review of the measured data is provided. This includes a description of all the output channels and an overview of ways in which FSAE teams can make use of the data.

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Creating active, student-centered learning situations in postsecondary education is an ongoing challenge for engineering educators. Contemporary students familiar with visually engaging and fast-paced games can find traditional classroom methods of lecture and guided laboratory experiments limiting. This paper presents a methodology that incorporates driving simulation, motion simulation, and educational practices into an engaging, gaming-inspired simulation framework for a vehicle dynamics curriculum. The approach is designed to promote active student participation in authentic engineering experiences that enhance learning about road vehicle dynamics. The paper presents the student use of physical simulation and large-scale visualization to discover the impact that design decisions have on vehicle design using a gaming interface. The approach is evaluated using two experiments incorporated into a sequence of two upper level mechanical engineering courses.

The Nondimensional Tire Model is based on the idea of data compression to load-independent curves. Through the use of appropriate transforms, tire data can be manipulated such that, when plotted in nondimensional coordinates, all data falls on a single curve. This leads to a highly efficient and mathematically consistent tire model.In the past, data for slip angle and slip ratio has been averaged across positive and negative values for use with the transforms. In this paper, techniques to handle tire asymmetries in lateral and longitudinal force are presented. This is an important advance, since in passenger cars driving/braking data is almost always asymmetric and, depending on tire construction, lateral force data may follow likewise.In addition, this paper is the first to explore the inclusion of inflation pressure as an operating variable in the Nondimensional Tire Theory. Inflation pressure affects the shape of the tire curves, notably the linear range stiffness and peak force friction coefficient. With this new variable, the operating conditions addressed by Nondimensional Tire Theory now include slip angle, slip ratio, inclination angle, normal load, surface friction coefficient and inflation pressure.